


Children and Fools tell the Truth

by Kima



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Gen, Spacer (Mass Effect)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-11
Updated: 2013-06-11
Packaged: 2017-12-14 16:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/838904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kima/pseuds/Kima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard is four years, three months and twenty-seven days old when she sees a turian for the first time. Needless to say, she is fascinated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Children and Fools tell the Truth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FearlessRaider](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FearlessRaider/gifts).



Kathryne Shepard’s first contact with a Turian happened when she was four years old. Born on one of the Alliance’s biggest cruise ships, she had never been on Earth, had never seen the vast blue sky, never tasted the salty air of the ocean or smelt the fragrance of rain. But she had seen non-human creatures in her early childhood which was more than most children could say.

Her mother was the ship’s captain, appointed not even half a year ago, while her father worked as a navigator, charting maps of the star systems they were flying through. It wasn’t an easy job, Kathryne knew that – even at the tender age of four years and three months old. When she looked at her father’s concentrated face, crouched over his desk and the galaxy map he sometimes explained to her or when she heard her mother sigh at the orders one of her superiors gave, Kathryne realized that her parents didn’t have much time for themselves. Maybe that was why she cherished their family dinners that much – maybe it was because there weren’t many children on the ship and she felt lonely more often than a child her age should have.

“Admiral Nelson sent a message this afternoon,” her mom said one day, around a spoon full of vegetable soup with beef that tasted vaguely like rubber. “Apparently, an Asari ship sent an SOS signal after they were attacked by pirates.”

“Any survivors?,” her father asked, looking up from Kathryne’s drawing of three spacemen landing on the moon (it was her favorite story).

“Only two,” Hannah said. “An Asari and her bodyguard, apparently she’s a very important diplomat on the Citadel. The bodyguard defended her until all the pirates were dead.” Her parents never beautified stories like that when they were talking while Kathryne was around; she had gotten used to words like “pirates”, “death” and “explosion”, they were part of her everyday vocabulary. “We are to take them on board and bring them to the Citadel safely.”

“Give me their coordinates and I’ll find a way to get there,” Daniel said with a sigh. “A trip to the Citadel wasn’t planned for another two months, though, that’s going to cost us weeks of operation.” Hannah shrugged.

 “Direct orders from above,” she said. “And there’s one more thing – that bodyguard? He’s a _Turian_.”

Kathryne didn’t see her father angry very often, her mother was more likely to get mad. But now, his whole face hardened, contorted into a grimace of disgust and wrath.

 “He’s not getting near my child!” he all but yelled, scaring Kathryne and causing her to rush to her mother’s side in search for safety. “I don’t want any of them near her!”

“I know you don’t like them,” Hannah argued, “but I can’t go against orders. We have to take them!” Her father grunted, stood and left, not having finished his meal.

“Daddy!” Kathryne called after him but he was already gone, the door of her parents’ room sliding shut behind him.

“He’ll come around,” her mother assured her, pulling her close for a hug. “Don’t worry, sweetheart.”

“But… why is he so mad? Did I do a bad thing?”

“No, it’s not you, Kat,” Hannah said, ruffling her daughter’s bright red hair. “It’s just that your father doesn’t like Turians all that much.”

“What’s a Turian, Mommy?” Kathryne looked up, puzzled. She’d never heard about Turians before.

“It’s an alien race, dear.”

“Like the Asari? And the Elcor?”

“Almost.” Hannah looked thoughtful for a moment. “You know, humans haven’t been in space for a long time. Most aliens were here long before us. And when humans first flew into space, we encountered the Turians. Both species were afraid of each other and then, we fought each other. Many people died, humans and Turians alike.” Kathryne frowned.

“Why did they fight each other? Just because they were afraid? But that’s not fair!”

“No, it wasn’t fair,” her mother agreed. “But that’s what happened. Right now, we have peace with the Turians and the war is over, but your father… Well, your grandfather died in that war and your father hasn’t forgotten that.”

“That’s sad,” Kathryne decided. She thought about it for a while and asked, “But not all Turians are bad, right?”

“Right. Just like not all humans are nice.” Kathryne nodded earnestly.

“Yeah, like Bobby! He wasn’t nice at all.” Her mother smiled.

“You’re a clever girl, Kat. Your father will come around, you’ll see. Why don’t you show me your drawing while he’s busy?” Kathryne happily did was she was told, the Turians and the war already forgotten – at least for the moment.

She remembered her mother’s words though as she watched the beautiful Asari diplomat come on board, accompanied by a tall alien with blue markings on its grey skin, clad in a dark blue set of armor. Its head was shaped strangely, so much different from humans, and its black eyes glinted in the dim blue light of the decontamination room but Kathryne wasn’t afraid. In fact, she was fascinated. The Turian wasn’t hauntingly beautiful like the Asari with her flawless bright blue skin but it wasn’t ugly either.

Kathryne, standing next to the ship’s physician, Dr. Connell, watched on as the Asari presented herself as Newehla T’Nius, diplomat of the Citadel, and her bodyguard as Officer Sagran Irin, her trusted companion. The adults exchanged knowing glances while Kathryne decided that it was very nice of Newehla T’Nius to have a Turian friend. Everyone else was focusing on the Asari as she explained what had happened to her ship and crew but Kathryne’s attention was fully on Sagran. He had a scar running across what she assumed to be his nose and something that looked like the mandibles she had seen on ants in her Earth biology book.

To Kathryne, he was the most interesting creature she had ever seen, even considering that she had been born on a space station and had seen a fair amount of aliens already.

Their journey to the Citadel lasted exactly two days, seventeen hours and nine minutes and most of this time, Kathryne tried to get near the Turian to get a better look at him. He tried his best to ignore her – a nosy human child who stared at him with absolutely no shame – but when Kathryne wanted something, she usually got her will one way or another. And she did this time, too; it was after lunch, three hours before they arrived at the Citadel. With her parents busy , she had followed the Turian around the ship until finally, he stopped walking and turned around to face her.

Up close, he was even more fascinating than from afar. He looked down at her, so much taller than she was, and asked,

“And just how long are you planning to pester me, child?” Kathryne pouted.

“I’m not pestering you, mister,” she said. “I just wanna look at you.”

“But _why_?” Sagrand demanded to know, sounding exasperated. “Surely, you have better things to do?”

“You’re pretty,” Kathryne answered simply. “Not as pretty as your Asari friend but still.” Sagran all but spluttered, taken completely by surprise.

“You find me… _pretty_?” he repeated, as if he could not believe his ears.

“Yup.”

“And that’s why you follow me around as if you were my shadow.”

“Yup.” He frowned and shook his head.

“You are a very, very strange child.” Kathryne laughed at his puzzled expression, whirled around and ran off, leaving the confused Turian behind. Not only was he pretty, she had learned, he was also funny – his confused face had been priceless. And after he and Newehla T’Nius left her parents’ ship, Kathryne decided that she liked Turians, no matter what her father said.

**Author's Note:**

> tbc....?


End file.
